Typographical composing and casting machine



D. S. KENNEDY.

TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING AND CASTING MACHINE.

APPLKATION FILED mums, 1921.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

k; (0,4 INVENTOR BY I ATTO NE YS operator.

UNITD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID S. KENNEDY, OF BROOKLYN, NEVT YORK, ASS IGNOR T0 MERG-ENTHALER LINO- TYPE COMPANY, A CORPORATION .OF NEW YORK.

TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING AND CASTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

Original application filed July 3, 1920, Serial No. 393,856. Divided and this application filed June 16,

eral organization represented in the Mergenthaler Patent No. 436,532, wherein circulating matrices are released from a magazine by the manipulation of a keyboard in the order in which their characters are to appear in print and then assembled in line, the com posed line transferred to the face of a mold, the mold filled with molten metal to form a slug or linotype against the matrices which produce the type charactersthereon, and the matrices thereafter elevated vand returned through a distributing mechanism to the magazine from which they started.

In these machines, certain of the powerdriven parts which include the well-known keyboard rolls) are operatedcontinuously, while other of the parts (such for instance as the casting devices) are operated intermittently, the driving connections for these latter parts including a main clutch which is engaged and disengaged automatically at.

certain predetermined periods and which is also subject to the independent control of the When the I operator leaves his place at the machine, it is customary to throw or lock the clutch out of action so as to guard against the accidental or unintentional operation of the parts. Since, however, the clutch is included only in the driving connections to the intermittently operated parts its throwout by the operator does not affect the continuously operated parts. The keyboard rolls therefore continue to'operate, andihence theaccidental or unintentional actuation of the finger keys will effect the improper release of matrices from the magazine, giving rise to considerable annoyance and delay and oftentimes causing damage to the parts.

To obviate the foregoing objection, the present invention provides an arrangement Serial No. 478,218.

' form and by way of example and as applied to the machine of the class stated, but oh- .viously many changes and alterations may be made therein and in its mode of operation which willstill be comprised wlthin its spirit. Generally speaking, I desire it to be understood that I do not limit myself to any specific form or embodiment except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. .1 is a plan view of certain portions of a linotype machine having my invention embodied therein; and

. Fig. 2 is a detail-view.

I have herein illustrated only such parts of the machine as are immediately concerned with my present invention. The other parts may be of any well-known construction, such for exampleas presented in the commercial linotype machine, or as illustrated in the h lergenthaler patent above mentioned.

The keyboard is of standard construction comprising the supporting frame A and a series of horizontal finger keys or key levers (shown in dotted lines) pivotally mounted therein for vertical movement upon transverse rods which sustain them in rows at different levels in the customary way. The finger keys are guided in their vertical movement by the front plate A fixed to the supporting frame A and formed with elongated slots wherein the forward ends of the finger keys are arranged, it being understood of course that the extent of the slots is such as to permit the required actuating movement of the finger keys. Attheir rear ends, the,

No. 393,856, before referred to.

pulley J, this being accomplished through the medium of the main driving clutch J. This clutch J is keyed fast to the cam shaft J and carries the radially movable shoes J actuated through the links J from the spindle J The spindle J is extended into the shaft J and is encircled by the spiral spring J which tends constantly to draw the spindle inwardly or toward the left to force the clutch shoes J into engagement with the inner surface of the constantly rotating pulley J. As previously mentioned, in the normal operation of the machine, the clutch J is engaged and disengaged automatically at certain periods, but it is also subject to the control of manual devices which may be actuated at will to 'throw the clutch into or out of action in dependently. Such manual devices comprise, as usual, the hand lever K pivoted at K to the framework and connected by the toggle K to the forward end of the fore-and-aft bar K which in turn is con- J nected at its rear end to one arm of the horizontal angular lever K whose other arm is engaged. with the collar J slidably mounted on the shaft J and pinned to the spindle J*, the arrangement being such that the clutch is thrown out of action and released by the forward and backward movements of the hand lever, respectively.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an automatic arrangement for locking the keyboard whenever the main driving clutch J is thrown out of action by the operator. Stat-ed more specifically, the keyboard equipped with a suitable locking device which is connected to the hand lever K in such manner that the finger keys will be locked and unlocked as the hand lever moved backwardly and forwardly, respectively.

In carrying out my invention, I propose ,to make use of the improvedlocking device presented in the parent application Serial 7 This improved device is in theform of a plate C ,slidably mounted upon the fixed front plate A? and formed with elongated slots 0 through. which the forward ends of the finger keys extend, the plate 0 thus being practically a duplicate of the plate A. It will be seen, therefore, that by adjusting the plate C backwardly and forwardlyupon the fixed plate A the finger keys may be locked or. unlocked as desired. Thus, in the forward or inactive position of the looking plate C, its elongated slots 0 are in registry with the corresponding slots of the fixed plate A so that the finger keys are free to be depressed or actuated in the usual way but when the locking plate is in its rearward or active position, its slots are out of registry. with those of the fixed plate and present their lower end walls beneath and in engagement with the bottom edges of the finger keys, which are thus locked against depression or actuation, all as fully set forth is said parent application. In the embodiment illustrated, the connections between the locking plate C and the hand lever K comprise a bell crank lever L pivoted to the framework, as at L and having one arm connected to the forward end of the bar K and its other arm connected through a link L to a smaller bell crank lever L which latter is pivoted to the fixed front plate A of the keyboard and has its free end arranged in engagement with the lower edge of the locking plate. Consequently, when:the bar K is pushed rearwardly by the clutch throw-out movement of the hand lever K, it acts through the connections described to slide the locking plate C rearwardly to active position as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1; whereas when the bar is drawn forwardly by the clutch-releasing movement of the hand lever, it allows the locking plate to slide forwardly by gravity to inactive position, as shown by the full lines in said figure.

There may be times when the operator will wish to lock the finger keys against actuation without throwing the main clutch out of action. This may be accomplished simply by shifting the locking plate rearwardly by hand, it being noted that the automatic connections above described are such as to permit this independent manual control of the locking plate. If desired, a rotary cam plate such as that disclosed in the parent application may be employed.

to facilitate the manual control ofthe looking plate.

Vhile the improved locking device disclosed in the parent application has been made use of in the automatic arrangement above described, it should be understood that driving clutch of the machine. As a natter of fact, in some aspects, my invention would be realized by the employment of a locking device which serves only to prevent or permit the release of matrices from the magazine. However, the use of the improved locking device in the automatic arrangement presents many advantages and particularly in connection with a keyboard of the linotype class, wherein as before indicated the finger-keys control power-driven elements which effect the release of the matrices. In short, I have herein shown my invention only in preferred form and by way of example and as applied toa particular kind of machine, but obviously many modifications and alterations therein and in its mode of application will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim is as follows:

1. In a linotype machine, the combination of the main driving clutch, means for throwing the clutch out of action at will, a keyboard, locking means therefor, and means whereby the throw-out of the driving clutch automatically effects the locking of the keyboard.

2. In a linotype machine, the combination of the main driving clutch, a movable hand lever tocontrol the operation of said clutch, a keyboard, a movable locking plate therefor, and connections between the hand-lever 4. In a linotype machine, the combination of the main driving clutch, means for throwing the clutch out of action at will, a keyboard, and means actuated automatically by the throw-out of the clutch to prevent the manipulation of the keyboard.

5. In a linotype machine, the combination of a series of finger keys, a locking plate formed with slots through which the forward ends of the finger keys extend and movable backwardly and forwardly to shift the end walls of its slots into and out of engagement with the finger keys so as to prevent or permit the actuation of the finger keys according to the position of the looking plate, the main driving clutch, means for throwing the clutch out of action at will, and means whereby the throw-out of the clutch automatically effects the movements of the locking plate to active position.

6. In a linotype machine, the combination of a series of finger keys, a locking plate formed with slots through which the forward ends of the finger keys extend and movable backwardly and forwardly to shift the end walls of its slots into and out of engagement with the finger keys so as to prevent or permit the actuation of the finger keys according to the position of the locking plate, the main driving clutch, a movable hand lever tocontrol the operation of said clutch, and connections between said hand lever and locking plate whereby the latter is moved to active or inactive position as required.

7. A combination as recited in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the keyboard locking means therein recited are also capable of independent manual operation so as to permit the finger keys to be locked or un locked at will.

In testimony whereof, I have afiixed my signature hereto.

'DAVID S. KENNEDY. 

